We start our days, it seems, on an assembly line, marching mindlessly from bed to shower to rush-hour traffic. Maybe a piece of fruit is scarfed during carpool, maybe a coffee-shop pastry sits next to the computer during that first round of e-mail.

This is no way to treat the first meal, the one that can set a tone for the rest of the day. There is another way.

Breakfast at Coral Rose Café is a city dweller's dream of a Midwestern farm, hearty and fresh and dotted with interesting family recipes.

The promptly refilled coffee is served with creamy half-and-half, the leanest respectable option for any restaurant that is serious about breakfast.

Another good sign: Among the wide variety of breads are two selections -- whole-wheat and fruit bread -- that are baked fresh on site. Stick to butter, though, because the puckeringly sweet jam tastes like fruit punch. When I first saw the neon-red spread, I asked our waiter whether it was strawberry.

''No,'' he said. ``Mixed.''

``Mixed berries?''

``Mixed something.''

The two small dining rooms have a home-on-the-range modesty, with wood-laminate tables and buy-it-off-the-wall photography. Our servers were attentive without being peppy, as if they'd had their second cup of coffee but realized most of their customers had not.

The scrambled eggs are fluffy and the home-fries are crispy with bits of potato skin. The bacon is thick-cut, meaty, not overly salty. Two of the four strips were tragically burned, but the others were awfully close to pork perfection.

With any egg breakfast, sausage is available instead of the bacon, and grits can be substituted for the home fries. For the former, only serious Southerners need apply -- the consistency is a just-right creamy firmness, but the flavor is bland even by grits' must-add-butter-and-pepper standard.

Sunday-morning favorites are here every morning of the week, including wonderfully light and chewy chocolate-chip pancakes. Filled with heavenly soft, dark chocolate, they require no syrup. Make sure your kids order an extra one, lest you sample their breakfast away.

The omelet list is long and wide, from the traditional to the sublime. The sharp punch of jack cheese in one recent special was offset by the mild texture of black beans, which spilled from the omelet like a treasure trove of polished jet. It was served with a finely chopped salsa of tomato, onion and cilantro.

Despite my distaste for coconut, I was tempted by the ''crunch French toast,'' which is crusted with coconut, nuts and corn flakes. The temptation was stronger for pistachio French toast, which did not disappoint. The crushed blanket of pale green nut meats added an extra dimension of texture and flavor, and also kept the last few bites from becoming syrup-soggy.

The prices are shockingly low -- a $20 bill will feed you well with enough left over for tax, tip and the parking meter outside -- making it one of the best bargains on Hollywood's social-climbing Young Circle.

The kitchen serves an enticing lunch menu, as well, heavy on Mediterranean fare, so we'll have to find time for an afternoon drop-in.

Until then, it's just nice to know there's somewhere nearby to get off assembly line and get into breakfast.